


Day Dreams

by Shaw



Series: Surviving Your Coworkers: A Cohesive Guide to Working in Blackwatch [10]
Category: Blackwatch - Fandom, Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 19:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14921745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaw/pseuds/Shaw
Summary: “Iunno what to tell ya, Genji. Life isn’t always peaches and cream. I suppose I just never gave it all that much thought.” Jesse felt halfway between sheepish and aggravated. On one hand he was the only one who hadn’t been able to think of even a lie to tell, but on the other he didn’t see where they got off thinking he owed them personal information. His leg bounced against his will as the conflicting emotions turned to jitters.“Whatever, it’s not a big deal. What would you do right now? If you could do anything?”





	Day Dreams

It was not entirely clear at what point the team became a little more than a team. One could suppose they’d always been a little more than just a team. They lived together, they worked together, and perhaps most importantly they relaxed together. Relax was maybe a strong word, given they probably were never completely relaxed; it was the best one to describe what exactly they felt around one another when there weren’t any immediate pressing life or death matters to attend to. 

 

That had led to stranger things yet, as it would be. Jesse recalled one such time-- when he and some of his closer coworkers had been winding down. It had been himself, Genji, Moira, and Lihua. Normally he supposed he wouldn’t have entirely enjoyed their company in a post-op cooldown. Preferred to go out and smoke somewhere, spending the cash he got in reparation for risking his life all the time on smokes he had only dreamed of being able to get in his youth. This time he felt like entertaining the company. 

 

There wasn’t much talking at first. Just the four of them lounging in one another company after they had gotten back to headquarters from their latest mission. It had been simple enough. Bloody, as Blackwatch work tended to be. It had been Lihua to break the silence. 

 

“You know, when I was a kid I wanted to be a pop star.” Jesse’s gaze slowly focused back in as he looked to Lihua with a look of slight confusion. Moira seemed skeptical about what she had just been told and Genji seemed to share in it, although it was always hard to tell since he didn’t care to remove his faceplate often. 

 

“Is that so?... Can’t imagine you doin’ that, if I’ll be honest with ya, Darling.” 

 

“I’d be offended if it wasn’t the truth. Found out pretty quickly I didn’t have the personality for it.” Moira chuffed at Lihua’s admission, shaking her head slowly. 

 

“No kidding. It’s for the best you chose the military instead.” Lihua shrugged it off easily, a quirk of the lips betraying that she too was humored with her past ambitions. Moira didn’t let the baton drop there, humming thoughtfully. 

 

“I believe… When I was a child, I aspired to be comic artist.” Genji audibly responded to this with a grunt, something a bit like understanding. Jesse could also understand. Art had seemed like a lovely thing to him too, once upon a time. He hadn’t so much as scribbled in over a decade though. 

 

“How’d you end up here then?” Jesse inquired. Moira looked at him knowingly for a moment. Everybody else seemed to be wanting to know the answer as well. 

 

“My grandfather was a geneticist. He specialized in crafting GMOs for agriculture. When I pulled my head out of the clouds, I wised up to the profession and never looked back.” Pulled her head from the clouds. Something about it sat solemnly over the group for a moment. They’d all had their heads yanked from the clouds at some point, hadn’t they. Some more abruptly than others. Jesse’s eyes slowly roamed to Genji. Lihua beat him to the punch. 

 

“What about you, Jerkface?” Genji responded with a furrow of the brow and flash of the ocular LED implants he possessed. Now that they’d all spent enough time around him, he wasn’t so jarring to behold. They got used to reading him, learning how he expressed himself. It lessened the tension substantially. 

 

“What do you mean…?” 

 

“I mean, what did you want to be when you were a kid.” Jesse could see Genji start to physically bristle at the topic being turned on him. The muscles in his neck always tightened to something painful looking when he got stressed or upset. 

 

“The Shimada Clan did not make room for aspirations outside of--” Lihua cut him off with a loud, wet fart noise. Genji blinked in surprise and Jesse could only guess that his mouth had fallen open behind his face plate. Moira was snickering softly, eyes bright as her gaze flit between the two. 

 

“... Excuse me?” Genji finally said. Lihua’s lips pursed slightly. 

 

“You’re excused. Anyways, quit the bullshit. What did you wanna be? I told mine, Moira told hers. Don’t be a spoil sport.” 

 

“McCree has not gone.” Genji pointed out petulantly. Jesse raised his hands up in earnest submission and Lihua had his back. 

 

“It’s not McCree’s turn. It’s your turn. Share with the class, we’re trying to have a bonding moment.”

 

“Come now, Genji, all children have dreams.” Moira added helpfully, voice wistful. Genji shifted, the muscles in his neck straining further. Jesse watched him with a slight twinge of pity, knowing that he was up next. He knew how it felt. Genji had probably had the idea of personal dreams squashed out of him a long time ago, probably had trouble even confronting the fact he had them to begin with. 

 

“I…” Genji started, before stopping again. The group waited patiently, all eyes on the man as he mulled over his answer carefully. He seemed to be thinking very hard about it. “I wanted to be a candy maker.” 

 

Jesse wasn’t sure what he had expected, but that sure as Hell wasn’t it. Genji Shimada, second in line to the ascension of the clan of Shimada… Had wanted to be a candy maker? 

 

“That’s… Actually really cute. Hey, what the Hell?” Lihua reached across the short space and rapped her knuckles against Genji’s leg with a noise of agitation. He folded his legs under himself further but didn’t reprimand her for touching him. 

 

“A candy maker.” Moira mused aloud. She seemed tickled at the idea, eyeing Genji as if she were trying to imagine him dressed as a traditional confectioner. A soft whirring had stirred up from Genji as his cooling systems kicked in and Lihua’s face cracked with a grin. 

 

“You’re embarrassed about it. That’s hilarious. Get over yourself, Jerkface, nobody cares.” Genji lowered his gaze, looking elsewhere. Lihua then turned her attention to Jesse. Her gaze softened slightly, her grin subdued to a smile. She was giving him a look that he’d seen before on several other occasions. He accepted it duly, nodding to her in acknowledgment. 

 

“Your turn, McCree. Spill the beans. But let me guess first. Cowboy?” 

 

“Hardly.” 

 

“Damn, really thought I had it.” Moira input something about low-hanging fruit and Genji scoffed. Lihua sat back expectantly. Jesse had to think about it as well. He wasn’t sure when the last time he actually gave his future any thought was, much less when he got the chance to do so as a kid. He spent much of his youth pitifully afraid of every morrow, or drowning out the thoughts of it with bad booze and cheap cigarettes. 

 

After much digging, Jesse managed to come to a conclusion. He’d never really had a childhood dream. Sure, he’d always had a soft spot for the image of the noble lone ranger but he’d never actually wanted to be a cowboy. Not in the technical way. 

 

“I’ll be honest with y’all…” He started, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I can’t think of jack shit. Nothin’. Naddathing.” 

 

“No, that is not fair.” Genji snapped. Moira’s words from before echoed in the disgruntled silence that followed. Every child has a dream. Jesse supposed he was the outlier. Lihua frowned slightly and Moira followed suit with a look of slight disappointment. 

 

“Iunno what to tell ya, Genji. Life isn’t always peaches and cream. I suppose I just never gave it all that much thought.” Jesse felt halfway between sheepish and aggravated. On one hand he was the only one who hadn’t been able to think of even a lie to tell, but on the other he didn’t see where they got off thinking he owed them personal information. His leg bounced against his will as the conflicting emotions turned to jitters. 

 

“Whatever, it’s not a big deal. What would you do right now? If you could do anything? Can I guess?”

 

“It’s not cowboy, if that’s what you’re going to say.” 

 

“You make this so damn hard, McCree. Okay, shoot, what’s the answer.” This was maybe a little easier to answer. If he could do anything, besides what he was doing right now… Any job, anything at all. 

 

“I figure… I figure, maybe, ‘d not be too hard to the literary pursuits…” Moira seemed surprised but as Jesse watched her expression, she seemed to weigh the idea and nodded thoughtfully to herself. Genji merely stared at him blankly, or was as far as Jesse knew. 

 

“A writer? Fiction or non-fiction?”

 

“ ‘suppose fiction? Iunno, I ain’t put that much thought into this, Darling.” Jesse ran a hand through his hair, clasping the back of his neck as he looked at the ground. Lihua punched him in the arm about as gently as one can punch someone in the arm. 

 

“Not bad, McCree. Didn’t even know you could read.”

 

“Har har, very funny.” The group lapsed back into silence for a while as they all drifted to their own thoughts. Gabriel confronted them all at some point, informing them they had until tomorrow afternoon to make sure he got their records for the mission. A strange look was passed between himself and Moira who then promptly followed the man when he left. 

 

“I wonder if Commander Reyes had some dumb childhood dream. I feel like he wasn’t born-- the SEP pulled him out of a test tube or something.” Jesse studied Lihua’s face intently. He couldn't figure it out. She’d been acting strange lately, bringing up oddly sentimental topics like this one. He supposed it was just a bit jarring to find out you barely know someone who you’ve known for years. She met his gaze after a moment, brown eyes narrowing as she started to study him right back. 

 

“What is it-- you’re thinking about something.” 

 

“Nothing important.” He admitted, rolling his shoulders and leaning back. 

 

“You are a nosy bitch, did you know?” Genji’s voice broke the moment. Jesse tutted softly. Lihua licked her teeth at this and shrugged. 

 

“Yes; Information is vital. Don’t try to say you’re not a little curious about it too. You’d be a bastard and a liar. Well, not that you weren’t both already.”

 

“Noted.” Genji replied, as unperturbed by Lihua’s insults as she was by his. Jesse couldn’t figure why they were so damn mean to one another sometimes. Somehow they were on better terms than they let on. Jesse still had to keep at least five feet away from Genji at all times unless it was a matter of emergency. 

 

“My guess is probably veterinarian. What about you, McCree?” 

 

“Wait, why a vet?” Brow furrowing, Jesse frowned at Lihua’s guess. He couldn’t think of one thing about Gabriel that said ‘aspiring veterinarian’. 

 

“Shut up? Shut up is why.” 

 

“Nice.” Genji stated simply. Lihua made a face at him and Jesse caught the indignant exhale in reply. That was as close to a laugh they usually got out of him. 

 

“Iunno… I mean, I guess a cop? Can’t really figure the commander not goin’ into some sort of enforcement.” 

 

“It is at least logical. Veterinarian is idiotic and baseless.”

 

“You all just lack a sense of perception.That’s what this is really about. You don’t want to admit you can’t see the logic behind it so you react with malice.” 

 

“That is because there is no logic and you are talking out of your ass.” 

 

“Perhaps.” 

 

“I’m gonna have to stop y’all right there, just because ‘m tired of listenin’ to ya. Shut up, please.” Amazingly enough the two did quiet down. Genji sat staring at his flesh hand in silence while Lihua closed her eyes and reclined back. Jesse got to chewing on the inside of his mouth at this point, the break of routine starting to nag at him. He could go for a smoke but there was a strict policy on doing that inside. He would live without one but his brain was starting to itch for it. 

 

“I was in tap.”

 

“ ‘scuse me?”

 

“You’re excused. I said, I was in tap. The dance class.” Lihua was still reclined, her eyes closed and face softened from its usual rigid expression. She looked calm, which was generally rare for her. Jesse wasn’t sure how he felt about all this. Genji took a little while to come back to reality but eventually made a noise in response. 

 

“My first recital, neither of my parents could come, or my grandma. All them were still doing service at the time. My grandpa was the only one there.”

 

“Pitiful.” Genji murmured, although his tone gave away his real sympathy. Lihua smirked nonetheless. 

 

“I totally cried in the bathroom afterwards. I felt like a total moron.” 

 

“Well, ya were tap dancing. Sorta hard to feel dignified doin’ that, what with the hoppin’ and jitterin’ around.” Lihua cracked an eye opening to look at Jesse as he spoke. He knew she was reading him again. 

 

“You can go smoke, you know. Nobody is stopping you.” 

 

“Mmhm… I know.” Genji sighed wistfully at the mention of Jesse’s bad habit. He’d caught the guy staring after him sometimes when he went to go out. He’d thought about offering him one before, but decided against it. Angela would probably personally kill him if he got the man started on smoking. Though Jesse figured Genji wasn’t a stranger to it anyways. 

 

In the ensuing silence, Jesse’s thoughts turned back to the strangeness of the whole conversation, of the moment of them sitting together in a strangely comfortable silence. He felt like there was something up with Lihua. Maybe she was getting transferred to a different base? Maybe she finally got that promotion? No, if that had been the case they’d never hear the end of it. Jesse sat staring at woman for some time before noticing that Genji was staring at him in turn. 

 

He’d expected the man to look away but instead they held eye contact for an amount of time that was bordering uncomfortably intimate. Jesse broke first, shaking his head at Genji and looking off into space. 

 

Now he really needed to smoke. This was just getting weird now. Running a hand over his mouth--trying to consciously stop chewing on the inside of his cheek--Jesse got up. 

 

“Jesse.” He froze when Lihua said his name. It wasn’t the usual tone, the one that meant they were about to get into it if he didn’t listen; it still commanded his attention. The unfamiliarity alone in hearing his name come from her mouth was enough to stop him. 

 

“Hm?” He hummed, trying to be as casual as possible. Lihua stared at him intently, jaw shifting as she thought. 

 

“... See you later.”

**Author's Note:**

> I need to figure out how I want to write Gabe. Also, will I ever actually be able to memorize legitimate military stuff? Probably not. I'm predispositioned to not know jack wallop about it, I guess. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading! If you liked it, leave a kudos, or if you're feeling social do ahead and leave a comment-- I don't bite, I promise. Addio


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